Sehwag pinning hopes on openers

New Delhi, May 7 (IANS) Delhi Daredevils captain Virender Sehwag says openers have to click if his team has to come on top in the Indian Premier League. In other words, he is motivating himself as an opener. On the eve of the Daredevils’ home game against Chennai Super Kings here Wednesday, Sehwag made it clear that openers would be crucial in any team’s success in the Twenty20 matches.

“The openers play an important role in Twenty20. The teams that have done well in this league are the ones whose openers have done exceedingly well. In this format, teams chase a target of eight runs an over right from the first ball and if the openers don’t click then it puts a lot of pressure on the middle order,” said Sehwag after a practice session at the Feroze Shah Kotla Stadium.

Sehwag cannot complain about his openers. Both Gautam Gambhir and Sehwag himself have done well and so has number three Shikhar Dhawan.

In the last match against Mumbai, both Gambhir and Dhawan failed and the middle-order was found wanting and Daredevils lost. The batsmen could not build on a good start, and Sehwag wants to plug the loophole by making changes in the middle order.

“There could be changes in the middle order, though ideally we would prefer to keep the winning combination,” said the Daredevils captain.

Sehwag wants to give every player a chance, but the presence of eight foreigners in the squad makes his job difficult.

“We have eight foreigners in the squad but can accommodate only four. It is difficult to select the team. We have to rotate and give everyone a chance” he added.

The Delhi batsman is happy with the way his bowlers have been performing in the tournament and said that he would go with four pacemen and two spinners — himself and Shoaib Malik.

Daredevils’ cricket adviser T.A.Sekhar said the presence of Glenn McGrath has been a boon for the young cricketers in the team.

“The young fast bowlers in the side are benefiting by bowling alongside McGrath. The Australian has been coaching Yo Mahesh and Pradeep Sangwan and the guys are getting better by the day. Generally coaching is done at the nets, but with McGrath around it is done in a match situation,” said Sekhar.

McGrath has been crucial in the Delhi’s team success in the league and his teammates would be expecting another stellar performance from the ‘Pigeon.’